Dead Duck Day also commemorates the billions of other birds that die(d) from colliding with glass buildings, and challenges people to find solutions to this global problem.

Please join the free, short open-air ceremony next to the new wing of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam (the Netherlands), right below the new Dead Duck Memorial Plaque— the very spot where that duck (now museum specimen NMR 9989-00232) met his dramatic end.

This is what will happen:

Sarah Forbes

The traditional Ten Seconds of Silence.

Review of this year’s necrophilia news: two new clear cases in birds became known to science, and the first case in a Dutch mammal (!) will be revealed.

The reading of the special ‘Dead Duck Day Message’. This years message is send in by Sarah Forbes, former curator of the Museum of Sex (MoS) in New York and author of the book ‘Sex in the Museum’.

The announcement of the second performance of ‘The Homosexual Necrophiliac Duck Opera’ in London, on sacred grounds, June 24th, 2016.

The first-ever Dead Duck Day Fashion Show. The first batch of t-shirts, designed by Mark Prinsen, will be for sale.

A six-course duck dinner, after the ceremony.

The traditional six-course (dead) duck dinner at the famous Tai Wu Restaurant is also open to the public (at your own expense). Reserve you seat by e-mailing to: info [at] hetnatuurhistorisch.nl

On June 5th, 2015, the 20th Dead Duck Day attracted a crowd of about 50 people. They gathered at the spot where it all began, right below the all glass facade of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam. At exactly 17:55h Kees Moeliker, in company of the stuffed duck (NMR 9989-00232), welcomed everybody. As all people more or less understood Dutch, he proceeded in that language. After a minute of silence on behalf of the duck and the billions of other birds that have died in collision with glas building, Kees Moeliker payed a tribute to the recently deceased Robert W. Dickerman, the
ornithologist who first described (homosexual) necrophilia in a ground squirrel (in 1960) and coined the term ‘Davian Behavior’ for that – distinguishing it from necrophiliac behavior in humans. Bob Dickerman should be remembered as the man who gave necrophilia a good name.

Professor Menno Schilthuizen.

Then professor Menno Schilthuizen read the pages from is recent book ‘Nature’s Nether Regions‘ that are devoted to ‘the first case of homosexual necrophilia in de mallard’ – the reason of this annual gathering. He also presented his insights in the functional anatomy of duck genitals. Then there was an equally joyful announcement: the performance of ‘The Homosexual Necrophiliac Duck Opera’ at the Tête à Tête Opera Festival in Londen, 8/9 August 2015.

A thunderstorm, the first ever experienced in 20 years of Dead Duck Day, forced the crowd to take shelter in the Natural History Museum where ceremony proceeded smoothly, with the presentation of the new Dead Duck Day logo and the accompanying fashion line, designed by Mark Prinsen.

Mark Prinsen (left) shows the DDD fashion line.

This years necrophilia news originated from Azerbaijan. It concerns a free-ranging Central Asian Tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) that tried to mate with the smelly empty shell of a male congener. Stephen Butler witnessed this in his back yard and donated the shell to the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, where it bears catalogue number NMR 9988-00702. The carapax was shown to the audience, and so was the old shirt in which it was wrapped when the specimen reached the museum.

The special Dead Duck Day Message was written and send in by Anil Aggrawal, professor of forensic medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, and foremost expert on human necrophilia. It was read aloud, by Kees Moeliker:

Necrophilia is a behaviour which reveals its unlimited curiosities almost regularly. Kees discovered a curiosity 20 years back. About a decade later as we were studying necrophiles from around the world, we discovered that it could be classified in 10 different types, starting from most innocuous “Role players” to the most dangerous “Exclusive necrophiles”. Gradually as we studied other paraphilias, it dawned upon us, that the very same classification could be extended to zoophiles too. Both studies were published in reputed journals. Were we on to something big? Do all paraphilic behaviors show same 10 gradations? Does a so-called “law of paraphilic equivalence” exist, which might state something to the effect that “all paraphilias are similar to one another, in as far as all of them exist on a continuum of increasing severity ranging from the most innocuous to the most dangerous?” Curiously as we studied more and more paraphilias with this objective in mind, we discovered that the law indeed was true. Most recently we have proved this in relation to even non-contact paraphilias, eg exhibitionism. For quite some time now, we had been thinking to bring together on one platform the necro-academics [my own term for scientists exploring this behavior] from around the world and publish their findings together in one book. Three academicians from around the world, including me got together a year back and were able to do exactly that. We got about 40 necro-academics from around the world and asked them to contribute their own experiences in the field of necrophilia in an anthology called ‘Understanding Necrophilia: A Global Multidisciplinary Approach’. Kees, to our honor, agreed and wrote an excellent chapter on necrophilia in the animal kingdom. I hope one day he discovers the 10 different kinds of necrophilia in the animal kingdom too, just as we have discovered it in humans. Necrophilia, thus, not only is a curious behavior, it is leading us on to new vistas in the study of paraphilic behavior.

The 20th Dead Duck Day ended with the traditional Dead Duck Day Dinner at the famous Tai Wu Restaurant, where about 35 people enjoyed each others company and good food. [all pictures, courtesy of Anjes Geesink]

“The two male singers will also be portraying the mallard ducks in question, through the medium of contemporary dance. A tasteful re-enactment of the duck display, mixing flowing, poetic body movements and extreme sexual violence.”Daniel Gillingwater, composer

My duck call (book not related).

This weekend, August 8th and 9th, 2015 ‘Tête à Tête:The Opera Festival‘, King’s Cross, London (also known as The World’s Largest Festival of New Opera) will feature two live performances of probably the first-ever scientific paper that has been converted into an opera – The Homosexual Necrophiliac Duck Opera. The actual words of my classic Ig Nobel winning paper (on that subject) will be sung and the duck’s display re-enacted! For those lovers of opera who are not familiar with homosexual necrophilia in mallards or in any other organism, I will briefly introduce it (using classic images) and then join the ochestra to play a sometimes dominating instrument, the duck call. While I blow the flute(s), soprano Sarah Richmond will take over my role by singing the exact words of my 2001 paper, including ‘Rather startled, I watched …’ which is the final vivace section of a pseudo Mozartian aria.

Dead Duck Day also commemorates the billions of other birds that die(d) from colliding with glass buildings, and challenges people to find solutions to this global problem.

Please join the free, short open-air ceremony next to the new wing of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam (the Netherlands), right below the new Dead Duck Memorial Plaque— the very spot where that duck (now museum specimen NMR 9989-00232) met his dramatic end.

This is what will happen:

The introduction of the new Dead Duck Day logo and the ‘Dead Duck Day fashion line’, designed by Mark Prinsen.

A tribute to the recently deceased Robert W. Dickerman (1926), the biologist who discovered homosexual necrophilia in ground squirrels in 1959, and gave necrophilia a good name.

Prof. Aggrawal

The reading of the special ‘Dead Duck Day Message’, send in by Anil Aggrawal, professor of forensic medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, and foremost expert on human necrophilia.

This year’s Dead Duck Day is the 20th. As usual, the short open air ceremony will be at June 5th, starting at exactly at 17:55h just outside the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, right below the Dead Duck Day Memorial Plaque.

It is on a Friday. Save the date: June 5th. We will keep you posted, and – please – do follow us on twitter: @Dead_Duck_Day

The north wing of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, with the Dead Duck Day Memorial Plaque, just left of the museum logo. (Photo Garry Bakker)

Thursday June 5th 2014 was the date of the 19th Dead Duck Day. After a rainy day, the late afternoon brought a clear sky and at 17.55h when about 40 people gathered right below the Dead Duck Memorial Plaque of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, the sun was shining. Everything went as planned.

In honor of ‘The Homosexual Necrophiliac Duck Opera‘ Kees Moeliker blew a duck call, and announced that he would search for funding to have a performance of this mini-opera on site, at the 20th Dead Duck Day in 2015.

Human beings have the strange idea that no other animal has sex solely for pleasure. But if our fellow creatures only care about the perpetuation of the species, why do they do it in so many ways that don’t result in babies? From manatees to manakins, all kinds of animals get it on with members of the same sex, and many have figured out that if you’ve got a stick, a rock, or a prehensile tail, who needs a partner?

As I collected material like this for my book Animals Behaving Badly from the comfort of my office, I came to admire the people who observe and report the sordid truth about the sex lives of the animal kingdom. When I read about a black-winged stilt pleasuring itself with a piece of driftwood, twenty or thirty times at a go, every thirty seconds, I thought about the researcher who carefully recorded this data. Were her feet wet? Was she regretting her decision not to go to medical school instead?

But no one inspired me more than the man who had the fortitude to observe for a full seventy-five minutes the spectacle of the homosexual rape of a dead duck – and then, because it was time for dinner, said, Enough is enough, collected his specimen, and went home. Kees Moeliker knows that if we all waited to eat till animals stopped behaving badly, we’d starve to death. And if that’s their wicked plan to drive the human race to extinction, he won’t let them get away with it. [Linda Lombardi, June 5th 2014]

Then, for the first time in history of Dead Duck Day, there was an invited speaker: Jacob van Gijs, architect at MVRDV (pictured above). He spoke about the use of glass in modern architecture and showed the surprised audience what might well become a novelty in constructing buildings: a brick completely made of glass.

About 20 people, including the invited speaker, joined the traditional Dead Duck Day Dinner at the Tai Wu Restaurant.

Thursday June 5th 2014 it is Dead Duck Day again. At exactly 17:55h we will honour the mallard duck that became known to science as the first (documented) ‘victim’ of homosexual necrophilia in that species. Please join for this short open-air ceremony next to the new wing of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam (the Netherlands), right below the Dead Duck Memorial Plaque, where that duck (now museum specimen NMR 9989-00232) has met his dramatic end.

Here is what we plan to do during the 19th Dead Duck Day

Commemorate the life and death of NMR 9989-00232, the mallard-duck that now has a special exhibit in the museum.

Review (maybe even play part of) ‘The Homosexual Necrophiliac Duck Opera’ composed and conducted by Daniel Gillingwater and performed by soprano Sarah Redmond and the Egde Ensemble. The world-premiere of this mini-opera was 14 March 2014 at Imperial College, London, as part of the Ig Nobel Tour of the UK. (click here for a report)

Hear about the use of glass in modern architecture from Jacob van Rijs (MVRDV), and discuss ways to prevent birds from colliding with glass (buildings).

After all this, everybody is invited to the traditional six-course (dead) duck dinner at the famous Tai Wu Restaurant.

Practical information

Dead Duck Day is open to the public and free of charge. The ceremony is in the open air on the lawn next to the north wing of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, right below the Dead Duck Memorial Plaque [pictured below], in the Museumpark (address: Westzeedijk 345, 3015 AA Rotterdam). We start at exactly 17:55h. Kees Moeliker will do most of the talking, in Dutch and in English (almost simultaneously). Usually, at about 18:25h we walk to the restaurant for the six-course duck dinner. Arrival at the Tai Wu restaurant (address: Mauritsweg 24-26, 3012 JR Rotterdam) at about 18:45h. If you want to join the dinner, please make your own reservations (telephone +31 [0]10 4330818; code Dead Duck Day 死鸭日]. Dinner and beverages are at your own expense.